A Dream Come True: Paying Cash for Our First Home

While we both were a little antsy to go ahead and put a contract on it, we wanted to research out everything more thoroughly, think it through, pray about it some more, sleep on it overnight and bring both of our dads to investigate it again with us to make sure we weren’t missing anything which we needed to be aware of.

There were already quite a few showings scheduled, so we felt it was best to not piddle around. We scheduled a time to come back and look at the house the next day with our dads and then we went home to pray and think.

Once home, we researched flood plains, tax appraisals, register of deeds documents, homes in the area which had recently sold and how much they sold for and we spent a long time praying for wisdom. We wanted to be 100% sure God was leading us to put a contract on this home. We really didn’t want to practically clean out our entire bank account for something which was not His will for us!

And the more we researched and prayed, the more the lights turned green. Based upon the prices of comparable houses in the area which had recently sold and based upon what we felt the home was worth, we decided upon what we wanted to offer.

The next day, we went back to look at the home praying that if there was any reason we weren’t supposed to put an offer on the house, God would make it very clear to us. Well, in going through the house with a fine-toothed comb again, we only came to like it even more. And our dads really liked it as well and felt the offer we had decided upon was fair.

So, with great excitement, we signed the contract. And within a few hours, the sellers accepted!

We had a hard time believing it was really and truly for real. After talking, dreaming, working and praying towards the goal of paying cash for a house, it felt rather surreal that it had actually happened.

A few weeks later, we drove Old Blue Van into town and signed our names on the dotted line to become home owners. We were chuckling while driving there about how crazy it was to be driving a clunker to pay cash for a home. We felt a little out of place when we drove up to a parking lot full of shiny almost-new cars.

After signing the contract and getting the keys, Jesse and I headed over to our new home. It is hard to describe the feelings which washed over us when we pulled up into the driveway. To see our dreams come to fruition. To see the sleepless nights and long days of working and saving pay off. To see the realization of years of scrimping.

It was far from a fleeting momentary giddiness; it was a deep fulfilling feeling in the bottom of our souls. By the grace of God, we had paid cash for our first home.

And we knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that God is good. We stepped out in faith and obedience at the beginning of our marriage to follow His leading to be counter-cultural and follow the Biblical principle of “owing no man anything” (see Romans 13:8). It has been far from easy and there have been many times when we’ve wanted to give up and give in. But as we’ve stayed faithful and obedient — even when the going got very tough — He has blessed that obedience and faithfulness far beyond our wildest imaginations.

Without God’s blessing and provision, we would never have been position to pay cash for a home. But He has seen fit to bless us with a spacious home that meets and exceeds all of our expectations. And it’s a testament to His goodness and graciousness to bless His children with good gifts. It is our heart’s desire that we be wise stewards of this home He has entrusted to us.

Comments

Your testimony of this experience has inspired my husband and I to save and do without things we really don’t need, so we can save for the farmette we have always wanted. Thank you so much for your strong testimony! God Bless you and your family!

Congratulations and many blessings! The bible says obedience is better than sacrifice. You and your husband are living testamonies to how obedience to God is a blessing. I pray that God continues to allow you to share his goodness with others and influence us.

Congratulations! This is such an inspiring story! My husband and I have been married 6 years and have paid cash for everything besides our house. Your story makes me wish that we would have done that too. While we are definitely living within our means, it’s crazy to think how much money we have spent on interest!!!! Good job!

Thanks so much Crystal! I’ve been following your blog for a few years now, and I literally just teared up reading this post! You are such an inspiration I Praise God for all the amazing blessings he has given us and especially for your motivation.

I love your story- it is a joy to see how God works isn’t it? We too are debt-free. By no means are we rich but we have always lived well below our means. Our philosophy has always been “God really owns all of it- we are only stewards and caretakers of what He has entrusted to us.” It helps keep it all in perspective as we live in contentment with what we have and love to bless others when God shows us where and how. May Christ richly bless you as go from here!

Wow! What a dream come true for you! Granted, we can only see pictures of the kitchen, but WOW! AND THANKS! We are looking to updgrade out condo’s kitchen and that’s the color of the cabinets I want. And I like the color contrast of the dark cabinets and the light countertop and tile floor. I may just have to copy that!!! DH also wants to redo all the flooring in the house as well…..oh brother!

Congratulations. You deserve it after all the hard work your family has done. You are a great example to all of us (especially the long time subscribers like me). Thanks for being an uplifting part of my day, when I sit to read your blogs. Crystal, enjoy that new kitchen of yours, as it truly is the heart of the home.

Thanks so much for sharing, we just started the Ramsey plan in the fall. What an inspiration. It is so true that it is life changing when you get God’s perspective on His money. Celebrating with you and your family. I am also going to email a link to this post to several of my friend who are just getting started also.

I LOVE hearing such inspirational stories like this! Congrats and enjoy!

Last year we became REALLY committed to becoming debt free. A few months ago we made our last payment. No more farm, house, car, credit card, etc payments! We told some friends of ours that we were completely debt free (and have some savings too) and now we have about $40,000 worth of work we want to do to the home–their first question was “so you’re going to go get a $40,000 loan?”…..um NO! Good grief we didn’t work so hard to get to this point to turn around and get back in debt.. Nope, we’ll save up some more and do one project at a time.

I am so happy for you and your family! You are truly an inspiration to everyone!! The house looks gorgeous!! You have just shown everyone that paying for a house with cash is possible and can really happen! God has truly blessed you and your family, congratulations! You are truly a testament to obedience and faith in God.

We have met and I have followed you since your Biblical Womanhood days. I thought you would reveal to us about how much the home cost.
It is a lovely home and you and your family certainly deserve it ! God does provide for those of us who provide for others in their times of need.
My saying when folks tell me I got really lucky was no I didn’t “God likes me because I am always nice (even when I don’t want to be) and I give even when I feel I can not to others who need it more.
Bless you all. Hope to see more photos and a hint at what a home like that cost these days.

This is awesome! What an inspiration. I think people just are so conditioned to think that you HAVE to be in debt for 30+ years in order to own a home. We USED to think that too but refinanced to 15 years and are working hard to pay the house off in half that time. I think we can do so much more for the Kingdom when we aren’t chained to a house payment and other forms of debt. I look forward to the day when I have true financial freedom. I am raising my kids to know that they do not have to be slaves to the world’s idea of prosperity. Thank you for your awesome example!

Dear Crystal, congratulations, we are so happy for your family! And what an awesome way to share what God has done in your life! If it is not too personal, would you mind me asking how much you saved up for your first house? My beloved and I have been working hard and have everything paid but the house—but the house needs work, the cars are old and need work, and sometimes we need a little encouragement—“So and so saved HOW MUCH money in 3 years?!?!?!? (If it is too personal, I won’t be offended if you don’t answer, and I apologize!)

Kelly

PS We actually made the mistake of adding to our debt by taking a second on our house and buying rental properties. When we bought our first house I was terrified to be $100,000 in debt (back in ’94) Now I have almost $1,ooo,ooo in mortgage debt, and its amazing how much power I let those little dollar signs have over us! We have decided to sell them, and get our life back—the only advantage to taking the second mortgage for us is that we actually bought something that APPRECIATES

What a great inspiration you are in a world driven by those living outside of their means in order to “appear” a certain way. Thank you for being authentic and vulnerable and sharing with us all your journey as a family. I hope my hubby and I will own a home one day and it would be wonderful to own it free and clear right away.

I am so excited for you all! And I love how you are giving God the glory, even though you did some serious hard work yourselves. Well done! I am enjoying your satisfaction vicariously. Keep us up to date on how you are enjoying it all! I love these personal posts and the encouragement they bring to so many.